Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un and… Monty Hall?

Jazz ShawPosted at 8:01 am on November 7, 2017

In the midst of the President’s trip to Asia, a funny thing happened on the way to Seoul. We seem to have shifted from fire and fury to what’s behind door number three. It’s too soon to say whether this is a blip on the radar which might be wiped away with a tweet shortly after you read this, but President Trump seems to be extending an olive branch to Kim Jong-un and urging him to make a deal. (NBC News)

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that there had been progress on resolving the North Korea nuclear crisis and called on Pyongyang to “make a deal.”

“I really believe it makes sense for North Korea to come to the table and make a deal that’s good for people of North Korea and people of the world,” he said, standing alongside South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in.

During a state dinner taking place this morning (in east coast time), Trump offered what sounded like a bit of foreshadowing when he said that during a major speech tomorrow there would be “an announcement” which people should be excited about. Coming on the heels of his comments about North Korea “coming to the table,” does this mean that there’s been some backroom wheeling and dealing going on which has produced results?

That might be a bit of a stretch. I’d assumed that any talk of a deal would be one with South Korea, not the North. Perhaps the installation of some new anti-missile defense systems or additional sanctions. Certainly the last thing I was expecting to hear was Little Rocket Man being given a seat at the table. But let’s just say for a moment that there’s been some sort of thawing in relations. What would that look like?

The obvious question is what North Korea could possibly have to offer. There’s really only one thing the west wants from Kim and that’s for him to abandon his nuclear weapons program. Given the fact that those weapons have been his family’s primary reason for existence over the last three generations, an offer to walk away seems unlikely. It would also strip Kim Jong-un of the only real symbols of power he has. But even if he were offering a “pause” in development (as he has in the past), why would we believe him this time? North Korea has violated every agreement that’s been made with them for decades. They put on a brief show of seeming reasonable, lasting just long enough for a few sanctions to be loosened and some new infusions of food and cash to reach them, and then it’s back to the nuclear races.

Personally, I’m not buying it. Trump may simply have been attempting to appear reasonable for the press so he can stick it to Kim once he rejects the suggestion. At this point, is our only hope Dennis Rodman? He’s back in the news this week, going to bat for his old basketball buddy Kim Jong-un. (TMZ)

Dennis Rodman is making a plea to POTUS on the eve of his trip to South Korea — asking him to make peace with his North Korean bro, Kim Jong-un, as tensions rise over nuclear warfare.